Purported Apple 'iPhone 5S' parts show home button, vibration

New images have emerged online purporting to show the home button and vibration module for the next iteration of Apple's iPhone.

The images, posted to a Japanese forum and publicized by NWE, are plain shots of detached smartphone components against a white background. The supposed "iPhone 5S" home button bears some similarities to the home button seen in the iPhone 5, however the connectors and circuitry running from the new button are much changed from its supposed predecessor.

The serial numbers shown on each of the home buttons are similar, which could indicate a higher likelihood that the pictured part is indeed from a future Apple device.

Less information is available regarding the supposed vibrational unit for a so-called "iPhone 5S." The unit pictured doesn't bear any serial numbers or other identification, but it appeared on the same site as the purported home button.

Friday's report notes that it is impossible to determine whether these are indeed parts from a future Apple product. The same site in January published a different set of supposed iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 parts, saying that the devices were slated for release over the next several months.

While rumors and part leaks for forthcoming Apple products are nothing new, rumor mill activity has increased over the last few months, with analysts and investors expecting Apple to release one or more new iPhone models in the coming months. Among the most prevalent rumors is the possibility of a cheaper iPhone, most recently rumored to be made from plastic, with a non-Retina display and summer availability.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. An "under glass" fingerprint reader would be kind of neat, if it did away with the home button, and then a "home bar" could be put in its place with a UI solution that could be swiped up and down like the notification center, but otherwise it seems gimmicky.

Is there not a fingerprint reader? There is some reason for the extra contacts on that flex cable. Keep in mind the authentec stuff reads the layer below the surface of your skin. Even if they didn't integrate the fingerprint sensor the extra contacts are for something. They had some reason to go from 2 to 10.

Originally Posted by xclntgig
Is it not technically feasible to use the screen as a fingerprint sensor? It would certainly be more user friendly.

I mentioned this in another thread, but there's a new touchscreen tech that reads the capacitance of the user touching it. Not only could this be used for multiple accounts on the same device (bad idea, in my opinion), it could be used for security purposes.

"Oh, you know the password but your capacitance differs from my owner's. NOT GONNA HAPPEN, HOTSHOT."

Originally Posted by digitalclips
For heaven's sake can we get some Mac Pro rumors for a change?

"Coming in 2013."

Ooh, when are the next two families of GPUs being released? ATI's 8000 series and Nvidia's... whatever they're on now? That could be an indicator as much as Intel's inability to release Haswell on time chip schedule.